Yes. They have to get to September 1st with a limited bench though. Non-zero chance they end up trying to pass him through waivers at some point and lose him for nothing.
The 2027 bullpen sets up decently:
RH: Hoffman, Morris, Gomez and two or three of Zebby Mathews, Sands, Raya, Culpepper, Anderson, Adams, Festa (still might like to add a FA)
LH: Banda, Funderburk and perhaps Rojas (I think he should stay a starter)
I have a sense they will non-tender one or the other depending on who pitches better down the stretch. I don't think they will pay both of them ~$7 million next year.
He could be the back-up catcher next year, but I don't think it's worth having a short-handed bench for another month when you can easily acquire someone similar in the off-season.
Take the bird in the hand. The only other argument is Culpepper would be cheaper, but if the Twins are stretching to reach the new $150 million salary floor, that doesn't matter much.
That's why I don't think that's accurate. I suppose it could technically be changed as part of the CBA negotiation itself though. There's also a question of whether they will drop service to free agency time to 5 years (seems likely) and if so, for whom it will be effective.
I've seen speculation that all teams might hold back players because 2027 would burn a year of service time if the whole season is lost to the lockout. I believe service time "tolls" in that case and would not count? At least that's what a I recall from the last work stoppage.